Portable radio receiving apparatus



May 7, 1929. 1 N 1,712,158

PORTABLE RADIO RECEIVING APPARATUS Filed March 3, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. H. NEAL PORTABLE RADIO RECEIVING APPARATUS May 7, 1929.

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Patented May 7, 1929.

ATESQ I r 1,712,158 P TEN'roF IcE.

JAMES'H. NEAL, F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS."

PORTABLE RADIO RECEIVING APPARATUS.

Applicationfiled March 3, 1925. SerialNo. 12,924.

This invention relates toa portable radio receiving apparatus especially adapted for use by persons when lying down and particularly by invalids confined to the bed and unable to assume an upright position; The invention further has for its object to venient or desired size, and the apparatus is arranged within the pillow, so that the earphone is located near the surface of the pillow, whereby an ear of the. person may be brought in close proximityto't'he mouth of the earphone. 7 The casing of the pillow or container may be removed to. expose the mouth of the phone or it may be of such material as to cover the phone and yet ofi'er substantially no material resistance to the passage of sound.

The apparatus within the pillow or container may and preferably will be provided with antenna and ground leads orconductors accessible from outside the casing, and said antenna and groundv leads may and preferably will be extensible and contractible, so that they maybe drawn out of the pillow or flexible container when the apparatus is to be used and so that they may be wound up .within the pillow-when the apparatus is disconnected from the antenna and ground, which permits the pillow and the receiving set carried thereby; to be removed from thebed when the latter is to be made up or if it is desired to use the apparatus in a difierent room or locality.

Provision is alsomade for tuning the apparatus from. outside the pillow or container as will be described. 1

These and other features of this inven- Fig. 2, a section on the line -22 ,Fig.

Fig. 3, an end elevation looking toward the left in Fig, 1. v

Fig. 4, a plan of the tuning portion of the broken away.

apparatus shown in 'Fig. 1, with parts i Fig. 5, a front elevation of" the apparatus shown in Fig. 4. '1

Fig. 6 a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 4 looking inthe direction of the arrow there'- ig. asect1on on the line .77,. Fig. 4, showing the crystal detector.

Fig. 8, a detail in section of one of the extensible leads or conductors, and a Fig. 9, a diagram of the apparatus shown 1n Fig. 1. r

In'the'present instance, one embodiment 7 of the invention is shown, in which a crystal set a is located in a flexible or yieldingcon- I tamer 1), herein represented as a pillow com;

prising a casing 10 of ticking or other'suitable material and a filling 112 of hair, felt 7 or other fibrous material commonly used in pillows. a a The crystal set a may be of any suitable or desired construction, and comprises, as here- 1n shown, a crystal 14, a tuning coil 15, a

slider 16 co-operatingwith the tuning coil .and movable with relation thereto by a rotatalole screw shaft 17 in a manner well understood. 7 d

The parts of the crystal set a are preferably assembled within a box or casing 20 providedwith a removable cover 21, and said box or casing also contains extensible antenna and ground leads .or conductors. 22, 23,

which have one end extended to the outside of the pillow or container 6 so as to be ac- Y cessible, and which have'their inner ends connected to spring-actuated drums'or reels 24 located in a suitable box or casing 25, after the manner of metallic tape measures, 95, and as shown in Fig. 8,;wherein the metal conductoror lead. is represented as partially unwound from the drum or reel'24 against the action of the spring 26, which latterserves to wind the conductor or lead upon the drum or reel when released by the operator. r a

The-conductors .or leads 22 23 arerepresented as metal ribbons which are provided attheir free ends with terminal members 27 28, which serve as convenient means for connection to the antenna and ground. H y

. The free ends'of the leads 22, 23 may be provided with enlargements 30 (see Fig.

l) to act as stops which prevent the free ends of the leads from being carried into'the pillow and rendered inaccessible.

The screw shaft 17 may be provided with a ball or handle 31, which is accessible from outside the pillow and by which the shaft 17 may be turned to :move the slider 16 over the tuning coil 15.

The tuning unit is .connected fin circuit with an earphone 35 of ordinary construction, which is located in the pillowor container Zrwith the mouth piece thereof lo cated in'proximity to the surface of the pillow upon 'whcih the head of the patient lies;

' Theearphone- 85 may be associated with the pillow 111 any convenlent manner so as tobe movable therewith, and in the presout instance, the earphone is represented as located within the pillow and supported by the filling 12 thereof, (seeFig. 2), and

has its mouth covered only by the pillow casing 10 and the phone may be maintained in a'practicallyfixed-position on the pillow bystitches 37 passed through the pillow from the upper to the lower surfaces thereof, as

i represented in Figs. land '2. The casing ofthe pillow or container is provided with an o pening at one end, through which the partsvmay be assembled withinthe container,

, and said opening may be closed by a flap 38 provided with fastener members 39, which leads 22, 23, and shaft 17, and the flap 38v co-operate with fastener members 40 in the body portion 41-1 of the casing (see Fig. 3).

The body portion 11 may be provided. with slits or openings 4-2 for the'passage of the may be provided with like slits or openings 43, through which the leads 22, 23, and the shaft 17 extend when the flap is closed as represented in Figs. 1 and 2.

' The boxes 25 for-the extensible and contractibleantenna and ground leads '22, 23, may and preferably will be located in the box 20 containing the crystal set, and the an.-

. tenna' lead 22 is connected in circuit with the tuning coil 15 by the metal bar (see Figfl l), and the ground. lead 23 is coniiected with a metalp'late 51 withwhich the slider 16 contacts, as represented in Fig. 6, so .tliat the circuit from the antenna 52 to the ground 53 represented in Fig. 9, is through the tuning coil 15 to the slider 16,through the plateel and the ground lead 23.

he crystal 14 herein shown has co-operatingwith it fixed contact members '55, 56,

' the'member 55 beingconnected by the wire I ceiving apparatus, which'is capable of being 7 57 with theantenna lead 22, and the contact member 56 bei connected with one of the phone wires 5 The other .phonewire 59 is connected with the plate 51.

Front-the above description and by reference tothe drawing, it will be observed that the flexible container co-operates with'the receiving set to form a portable radio removed as a unit from'one place to another,

and which can be connected with the antenna and ground by merely dr'awingout the leads 22, 23, and connecting them to the antenna and ground terminals of the circuit. The

handle or ball 31 can then be rotated to tune in the apparatus with a broadcasting station,

and the apparatus can then be placed on the bed with the mouth of the phone beneath the ear of the invalid or other person occu- 1 pying the bed.

When the apparatus is not being used, the leads 22, 23, may be readily disconnected from the antenna and ground-terminals, whereupon they are wound up on reels or drums by the springs 26 and into the position illustrated in Fig. 1.

The portable apparatus is then capableof being removed from the bed until it is desired to use it again, oritfmay be carried to another room or locality andagain put into use.

It will be observed that the apparatus does not in an r of the be or attending to the invalid when way interfere with the making the apparatus is not being used. Furthermore, while the portable apparatus is par-:

ticularly adapted for use by invalids, it may also be used by Well persons when the latter have retired or are resting'on a couch or even when sittlng in a chair.

The receiving set is preferably a crystal set, which is so inexpensive. as to enable hospitals and like places to be provided'with a large number of the portable "units" at a minimum expense.

Furthermore, the portableunit can be supplied to individual homes of poor families at a minimum expense, and used-by the people therein. I Y

The flexible container is herein described as a pillow, but it is not desired to limit the to which the ear of a person is applied, a

tuning coil and a crystal detector within the pillow connected in circuit with said earphone, extensible and contr'actible antenna and ground leads normally located in said pillow and connected in circuit'with said earphone, tuning coil and crystal detector and accessible from outside the pillow to be capable of being Withdrawn therefrom for connection with the antenna and ground, and

means within the pillow forautomat-ically returning said leads within the pillow when disconnected fromsaid antenna and ground.

2. In a portable radio receiving apparatus, in combination, a pillow for yieldingly supporting the head of a person, an earphone located in said pillow and having its mouth arranged toward the surface of the pillow to which the ear of the said person is applied, a crystal set located in said pillow and connected in circuit with said earphone, and

extensible and contractible antenna and ground leads located in said pillow and connected in circuit with said crystal set and said earphone and accessible from the outside of said pillow for connection with an antenna and ground, means within the pillow for automatically returning said leads within the pillow when disconnected from said antenna and ground, and means for tuning the crystal set from outside of the pillow. V

3. In a portable radio receiving apparatus,

in combination, a pillowfor yieldingly supporting the head of a person, an earphone located in said pillow and having its mouth arranged toward the surface of the pillow to which the ear of the said personis applied, a casing within said pillow containing a crystal set and spring-actuated drums up-' on which are wound antenna and ground leads, means within the pillow forconnecting' the earphone and crystal set in circuit with said antenna and vground leads, and

means for tuning the crystal set fromout 7 side the pillow, said antenna and ground leads being accessible from outside ofthe;

JAMES NEAL. 

